An adult stories – The Co-ed Beach Volleyball Team by NotHemingway,NotHemingway The saying “When in Rome, do as the Romans do,” means that one should conform to the standards of the community one finds himself in. So, for example, if everyone in your circle dresses modestly, then you’ll be expected to, and want to, do the same. But what is the norm is the opposite of what you’re used to? What if modesty is not valued, should one forsake it?
I was part of a group of college students who had to deal with just that question. Our very successful college beach volley ball team was invited to an international tournament in Denmark. Our team had been made co-ed two years prior – a statement of gender equality, and maybe also influenced by the fact that our liberal arts college in New Jersey didn’t want to finance two teams. We competed against the few other co-ed teams, but also against same sex ones. We girls loved beating the male athletes, wounding those fragile male egos.
Now, the Danes are a lovely, welcoming people. But they view nudity differently from us. Nude presence at beaches and in spas is the norm. There are shared showers at the beaches, where people unashamedly wash off all that sand – from all their body crevices. And topless women sunbathing in public parks is not uncommon. Not that the Danes run the streets naked – but they don’t panic if some flesh is exposed.
Our introduction to this came after our first practice session against a local team, in a town outside of Copenhagen. At home, after a game, the male members of our team went into their locker room and we went into ours. But this foreign site had two locker rooms – one for the home team, the other for the visitors – us.
Usually, teams are of one sex, but obviously that was not us. The opposing Danish coach didn’t recognize a problem, and he and his team marched into their locker room, leaving us, sweaty and needing showers, to ours.
We girls huddled on one side of the lockers, the men on the other. We whispered among ourselves about what we should do. Should we ask the men to wait outside while we showered? That was our plan, until we looked over and saw that the men had already made their decision. They were stripping off their clothes. When they got down to jock straps, they lowered them without much fanfare. Brad, one of the hunks (we had our favorites) came over to our side with a towel over his shoulder, and completely naked. His penis hung down over a mass of pubic hair and testicles.
“Girls, we’re not in Kansas anymore. We’re going to shower. You do what you want.”
And he walked to the showers, followed by a troop of muscular, naked men.
We had a decision to make.
“I could never be naked in front of a group of guys!” exclaimed Amy. “Maybe we shouldn’t shower.”
“Well,” said Meg. “I’m gross. I’m not going to put on my clothes over this sweat. If those guys have the balls to shower in front of us, then I’m okay with it.” And she pulled off her jersey, and unhooked her sports bra. Her ample breasts tumbled out of the bra.
Sarah chimed in. “It’s not everyday you get to see six naked men. It’s not like we’ve got hanging body parts like they do. If they’re ok, so am I.” And she also pulled her jersey over her head. She reached down and unhooked her shorts. The shorts and her panties soon were on the floor.
The remaining four of us women watched Meg and Sarah walk to the showers. They found empty showerheads among the men. Without much discussion, the men and women washed their bodies.
“I never thought I could do this,” I said, “but this will be an experience we’ll talk about for years. I’ll tell my grandchildren about this crazy time.” And with that, I stripped off my clothes.
Peer pressure is a powerful thing. It would be awkward to be nude when everyone is clothed. But the reverse is true. When everyone else is naked, keeping your clothes on makes you stand out.
“Fuck it,” said Catherine. And she striped off her clothes. She walked into the shower flaunting that bare, perfect ass of hers.
Soon, Amy was the only one clothed. She stared at all of us in the showers, soap and shampoo running down naked bodies. No one was ogling anyone (although we all looked.) No guy had an erection. It was just a group of human beings washing themselves. Amy pulled her jersey off. Taking deep breaths, she unhooked her bra. With eyes closed, she slid her shorts and underwear off. Then she walked to the shower to join us.
It was exciting, it was fun, and it was sexy to see the naked bodies of so many of the opposite sex. Water cascading off everyone’s bodies made the skin shine. People bent over washing their legs, their butts, washing their genitals. And after a few minutes, it seemed completely normal.
Afterwards, we agreed that that was how we’d operate all the time during the tournament. We dressed and undressed in the same locker room. Showers were communal and shyness was put to the side. We were one team, one group of human beings.
When we returned to New Jersey, we didn’t tell people what we had done. But we had the memory of the beautiful bodies we were witness to, and the freedom to enjoy each other without shame. But that special time was never repeated. When in Jersey …